Circular-knitting machine



Match 27; 1928.

I 1,664,299 H. E. 'KATZENMOYER CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed Oct- 17, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fill M Hm umu INVENTOR A TTOR/VEVS March 27, 1928. 1,664,299

7 H. E. KATZENMOYER CIRCULAR Kunmze MACHINE I Filed Oct 17. 1922s 4 Sheets-Shae; a

v Man/70R Wm W A TTOR/VEYS H. E. KATZENMOYER CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE 4 Sheets-sheaf 3 Filed Oct. 17,. 1923 ATTORNEYS H. E. KATZENMOYER GIRCULAR' KNITTING MACHINE Fiied Oct. 17, 192:5 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 27, 192 8.

UNITED STATES "1,664,299 A PATENT OFFICE. v

HARRY E. KATZENMOYER, OF READING, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO SCOTT AND WILLIAMS, 1110., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

CIRCULAR-KNITTING mncnmn.

Application flied October 17, 1923. Serial No. 669,094.

The main object of invention is to so construct circular knitting machines products can be obtained by the making of s-structural changes in the knitting, as for example by the employment of tuck stitches. My invention is particularly useful 1n the knitting of hosiery, where it is desired to roduoe .clock effects in the sides of the stockings by such variations in the knitting as is obtained by the use of tuck stitches for the line of"cl0cking. In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated my invention as employed 1n the construction of a circular knitting machine for the knitting of scamless hoslery in which there are produced tuck stitches'to imitate the narrowing marks at :the. calf of the leg and also other tuck stitches to produce the appearance of clocks at the sides of the leg and foot of the stockdifierent types of Fig. '4 is a partial sideelevatwn showing one of the clearing cams:

Fig.- 5 is a view of a detail; 1 y

- Fig. 6 is a viewof another detail on a much larger scale:

machine showing certain of the cam controllin devices which are hereinafter describe v y I Fig. 8 is a. front elevation of part of the mechanism:

stocking which may be produced on .my machine.

Referring to this Fig. 9, womans stocking, the marks :22 indicate the lines of spaced tuck stitches formed at the calf of the leg of the stocking on each side of and parallel with the back seam y in 1mitation of the narrowing marks of what is commonlytermed a fullfashioned stocking.

At 2 in this Fig. 9 I have indicated clocking effects to be produced at the sides of the stockin by lines of tuck stitches. The number of t e lines of tuck stitches may be vathat varied constructions and designs of knitted plan view of the bed;

illustrating a fried in each stocking'to add to the ornamental effect. For example, there may be four lines of tuck stitches throughout most of the length of the clocking even along the foot, wlille for a short distance near the to as at 2', there may be but two lines of suc tuck stitches.

My present invention provides means whereby the above and other varied effects may be produced by tuckin especially where the knitting has to be varied in successive courses.

In carryingout my invention do not restrict myself to any particular tucking means, but I find it convenient to make use 7 of four stylesof knitting needles, two with latches-of ordinary length, or as we may .call them short latches and two with long latches. The short latch needles n and n. Flg. 2', are for producing the ordinary knitting at waleswhere there is to be no tucking. These needles are as usual in two groups,

.one group 11. having long butts constituting the instep needles and the other group 01. having short butts for the rest of the circle 30 of needles, except where long latch tucking .needles are intercalated in either of the groups of short latch needles.

7 Of the long latch needles, one form n has a long butt, while the other form n has an extra long butt, as shown in Fig. 2. i

The needles n are introduced into the group of needles at the two wales in which the tuck stitches m (Fig. 9) are to be interg mitten'tly formed and also at those wales of Fi 7 is a rear elevation of part of the the clocking z where the lines of tuck stitches are continuous throughoutv the length of the clocking. Where ahyof the lines oft'uck stitches for clocking are to be interrupted,

I needles a which have the-extra long butts. Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating a type of To producetuck stitching by the aid of the long latch needles, I prefer to employ mechanism of the samegeneral construction as that which forms the subject. of my Patent 0 1,404,124 dated January 17, 1922, including the use of, a movable clearing cam 50", (Fig. 7 1), pivoted at 51 and having at its-free end a pin 52 projecting to the exterior of the cam cylinder 53, Fig. 3, and controlled from 5 the pattern chain, as described in my said patent.

This pin 52, as seen in Fig. 3, rests upon the outer end of a lever 49 pivoted at 48 to a suitable bracket on the bed plate 10 of i the machine, and connected at its other end to a rod 47 which is vertically guided in the bed plate with its lower end immediately over a rotatable cam 8, Figs. 6, 7 and 8.

When the rod 47 is not held in an elevated position by this cam 8, this rod will stay in its lower position by gravity, resting upon the hub of the cam, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, and will elevate the end of the lever 49, which supports the free end of the switch cam 50 to keep the latter in its higher position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1.' When this cam 50 is held in that position, all the long latch needles as well as the short latch needles will be projected far enough to clear their stitches. But when the cam 8 in its rotation, raises the rod 47, the cam 50'will drop to the position shown by full lines in Fig. 1, where the long latch needles will not be projected far enough to clear the loops, but the short latch needles will clear them.

The above mentioned controlling cam 8 like the similar cam 8 of my above mentioned patent is mounted to turn upon a stud 5 carried by a bracket4, which is secured to the frame 1 of themachine. The cam is intermittently rotated by means of a ratchet wheel 6 which is secured to the cam and which may be actuated and controlled by mechanism such as is fully set forth in my above mentioned patent and forms no essential part of my present invention.

This cam 8 in my present invention has two diametrically opposite acting faces 9, 9, instead of oneas in my former patent, to lift the rod 47, and the ratchet wheel 6 is in the present instance provided with eight teeth so that when the tucking is to take place, as described in my former patent, the result with this modified construction of cam is to have the cam elevated for say two courses and lowered for say two courses alternately. This action produces the preferred arrangement of tucking where the ,clocking effect is desired. At the part of the stockingiwhere the imitation narrowing marks as are to be introduced, these marks I should be spaced apart more than two courses, so I provide an additional clearing cam 60, Figs. 1, 3 and 4, to intermittently act upon the needles 71?, in the narrowing mark wales at the two courses where tuck stitches are not required at those narrowing mark wales. In other words, at those two courses the clearing cam 60 will have the effect to obliterate, as it were, the tuck stitches which would have been produced by the action of the cam 50 on those particular needles. I

This additional clearing cam 60 is shown as pivoted in a notch in upper edge of the cam ring 53, Figs. 1, 3 and 4, and I provide means whereby this cam 60 is raised to its elevated active clearing position only during that part of the revolution of the knitting head while the two needles which are to form the narrowing marks are passing this cam 60. For th1s purpose I may mount a slotted slide bar 62 on guide pins 63 on the face of "the bed plate 10, Fig. 3, to act upon a finger 61 on the pivoted cam 60. This slide bar.62 is drawn in one direction by a pullspring 62'- and at its outer end is acted on by a pin 64 on the horizontal lever 65, which is pivoted on a vertical axis at 66, Fig. 3, and has an arm 67 hinged to the lever by a horizontal hinge 68 so that this arm 67 can be raised out of or depressed into the path of a pendent swinging lever 59 pivoted at 58 to the side of the frame 1 of the machine as shown in Fig. -5. This lever 59 is acted on at each revolution of the knitting head by one or other of the cams 56 on the revolving wheel 55, so that if the arm 67 is in line with the striking pro'ection 54'on the lever 59 (as shown by ful lines in Fi 5) the lever 65 Fig. 3) will be caused to push the slide ro 62 so asto raise the cam 60 at the proper moment to clear the loops on those two needles n which are in the narrowing mark wales.

Means are provided for doing this for say two successive courses and ,then for intermitting the action for say two successive courses. This latter effect is obtained by the provision of means to automatically raise the hinged arm 67 to the dotted position, Figs.

5 and 8, so that the lever 65 will not then lower position with the arm 67 in line with the projection 54 on the swinging lever 59, I provide a lever 75 on a horizontal pivot 76 on the plate 1. Under the outer end of this lever 75 is a pin 77 I guided vertically in the bed-plate 10, and resting atits lower end upon a cam 78 or the hub thereof, which lies between, and is attached to, the ratchet 6 and cam 8. When the pin 77 rests upon the cam 78, as'seen in Figs. 6 and 7, the lever 75 is tilted to depress the rod'72 (Figs. 7 and 8) to bring the arm 67 for the time being into the path of the oscillating lever 59 .to raise the clearing cam 60 into operative position for a part ofeach of the two or .other desired number of revolutions of the knitting head.

A pull spring179 may be employed to tend to draw down t at end of the lever 75 which is acted on by the pin 77.

In the present instance, I have shown my invention as a plied to a knitting machine -with a revolvlng needle cylinder and nonrevolving cam cylinder, but my improvements may be'applied to other makes of circularknitting machines.

A further feature of my invention relates to the means whereb the clocking may be made of difl'erentwi ths. For this purpose I provide a third clearing cam 80 (Figs. 1 and 3), which may be brought into action at the courses Where it is desired to reduce the number of. lines of tuck stitches and so reduce the width of the clocking effect as indicated at a Fig. 9.

At those wales where the tucking is to be temporarily stopped (in the case indicated at 2' it is the outer wales of the clocking) I employ needles n, (Fig. 2) with extra long butts and this thirdclearing cam 80 is moved radially inwards at the appropriate courses sufliciently far, and only sufiiciently far, to act upon the butts of these needles n to make them clear their loops, but not to act upon the butts of any of the other needles.

Similarly, if it is desired to make the inter-.

. mittent tuck stitches a; without the clocking 2 or z needles having long latches like the needles n or n and re ular short butts'hke needles n areemploye where the intermittent tucking a: is desired and the clearing cam 80 is inserted sufficiently to clear the needles 1;? and at. v

To move this cam' 80 inward I may use devices such as described in Scotts Patent 1,152,850, September 7, 1915, for controlling radiall movable cams. Thus I- may provide a suita le cam 20 on the pattern drum 120 to actupon an upright thrust bar 460 with a cam 485 (Fig. 3) which when the thrust bar is raised as described in said Scotts patent operates a lever 487,-pivoted at 488 on the table 1 and acting'at its other end (Fig. 3) upon the outer end of the radially guided cam 80.

A further construct the machine as to make sure that the tucking cam will be maintained in its elevated clearing position (shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1) during the knitting of the heel and toe pockets. For this purpose, I connect to the outer end of the lever 49,

Fig. 8, a wire 81 whose lower .end is con,-

nected vto a lever 82, pivoted at 83 to the down the connected end of lever 49 an feature of my invention is to so frame and having its free end in the path of when the clutch is shifted to the left, that is from the round and round knitting to the reciprocating knitting position of the machine thispin 84 will raise the free end of this lever 82 and depress its other end to ull so keep the cam 50 raised to the clearing position, Fig. 1, during reciprocating knitting.

I claim as my invention- 1. A circular lmitting machine having needles some of which have long butts and others short butts and a movable clearing cam therefor and means for moving this cam either to the clearing or the tuckin position in combination with anadditiona clearing cam and automatic means to move the latter to active position during a part only of a revolution, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A circular knitting machine havin needles some of which have long butts an others short butts and a movable clearing cam therefor and means for moving this cam either to the clearing or the tuckin position in combination with an additionaI clearing cam and automatic means to move the latter to its active position during a part only of each revolution for successive revolutions.-

3. A circular knittin machinehaving long and short latch nee les some withlong butts and others with short butts and a movable clearing cam therefor and means for moving this cam either to the clearing or the tucking position in combination with an additional clearing cam. and automatic means to move the latter to active-position during a part only of a revolution, as and for the purpose set forth. V 4. A 'circular knittin machine having long and short latch nee es some with'long butts and others with short butts and a movable clearing cam therefor and means for movin this cam either to the clearing or the tuc ing position in combination wit an additional iclearing cam and automatic means to movethe latter to its active position during a part only of each 'revolution for successive revolutions.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification. I 

